Anne-Bart Seinen

Abstract Elucidating elementary mechanisms that underlie bacterial diversity is central to ecology1,2 and microbiome research3. Bacteria are known to coexist by metabolic specialization4, cooperation5 and cyclic warfare6,7,8. Many species are also motile9, which is studied in terms of mechanism10,11, benefit12,13, strategy14,15, evolution16,17 and ecology18,19. Indeed, bacteria often compete for nutrient patches that become available periodically or by random disturbances2,20,21.